Android Trumps Apple in 2013 Tablet Sales

Android powered tablets overtook iOS tablets in total sales last year.  

According to a report by Gartner, Android tablets captured 62 percent of the total global tablet market in 2013. Meanwhile, Apple tablets managed to hold on to a 36 percent market share.

As a whole, tablet sales grew 68 percent in 2013 with 195.4 million units sold between different brands and operating systems. Of that total, Android tablets accounted for about 121 million units and Apple spoke for about 70.4 million. Meanwhile, Microsoft powered tablets only accounted for about 2.1 percent of sales with around 4 million units sold. Though Apple managed to sell more tablets in 2013 than it did the previous year, Android's healthy sales increase allowed the Google OS to surpass Apple's total market share. With that said, Apple was still the top selling brand of 2013, with a 36 percent hold on the market. Outside of Apple, Samsung was the number one brand, accounting for about 19.1 percent of the total tablet market. ASUS and Amazon follow with 5.6 and 4.8 percent respectively.

"In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. "As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditized, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value — beyond just hardware and cost — to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins."

Source: Gartner